A Kiss in REM
by maramouse
Summary: After their first date, Luke tells Lorelai the story of HIS first kiss with Lorelai...a kiss Lorelai knows nothing about.


Author's Note: Well, if you read my A/N for "Star's Cross Lovers" Ch. 1, then you'll know I meant it when I said I had a lot of oneshots half finished! This one I finished last night. Now if I can only get back to work on "April Come She Will," right?

This is another super fluffy oneshot that came to me when I was thinking about Lorelai's dream of being pregnant with twins and how she pretended when she told Luke about it later that they hadn't kissed (how much do you want her to have told him? HOW?). Then I thought, _Hmm...I wonder what LUKE'S "first" (ie, dreamed) kiss with Lorelai was like? _I prefer to go with sweet, rather than dirty, thank you very much. Even dream Luke is a gentleman (at first, maybe)!

This takes place in "Written in the Stars," between the date at Sniffy's and the Morning Floor Show...though, um, after the "deed," so it were. It just makes me unbearably happy to think about how happy Luke would have been here, after finally getting the girl, and such happiness is necessary to remember, so that the ugliness of later Season Six/Season Seven isn't so paralyzing! Some of the dialogue is borrowed from the episode, and I don't own that. The rest is all mine...well, maybe not all mine, but maybe if I have a dream about it, it'll happen one day (you'll see in this fic). But no, as of now, I don't own any of it. Enjoy!

P.S. While I was coming up with a title for this, I googled "first kiss pop culture references," in the hopes that I would be able to name this fic something Lorelai would deem appropriate. Weirdly enough, though, the result that came up was a Wikipedia entry on _Gilmore Girls_, and it highlighted Rory's first kiss with Dean and how _Gilmore Girls _uses so many pop culture references on the show! Weird, huh?

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There was one thing Luke had never fully appreciated about having a twin size bed: it significantly maximized the snuggly potentials.

Lorelai leaned into him, playing with one of his hands. "Wow," she said simply.

In spite of himself, Luke grinned. "You're regretting waiting eight years now, aren't you?"

"No, _you're _regretting waiting eight years," Lorelai said, looking at him meaningfully, and Luke sighed, knowing it was true. Seeing Lorelai like that for the first time had almost make his heart burst right out of his body, as he wondered whether this could really be happening. He'd marveled at every detail about her, from the tiny freckle on her shoulder to other intimate details that he felt honored to be keeping secret. Even after every dream he had had about her, he could still barely believe he had gotten to experience the real Lorelai. As much as he'd wanted her, he'd also taken time on every touch, to assure himself that was what was happening was _real_. And, goddammit it, now that he knew what he'd been missing, he was never letting go.

"I can't believe you kept the horoscope," Lorelai said dreamily, moving her fingers up his hand. When he replied she was just lucky he never cleaned out his wallet, she said, "You can't take it back now. You've exposed yourself. You've been pining for me."

"I have not been pining for you," said Luke, laughing, though inside, he wondered if it was true.

"I'm your Ava Gardner," Lorelai returned, looking into his eyes.

Luke tried not to smile as he said, "God help me."

He felt so elated that he wanted to fly and to do many more corny things that he'd always scoffed at before. His heart was still racing, even though it had been a good few minutes since the climax had ended. Having Lorelai in his arms, looking at him was such adoration in her eyes, made him so happy he felt like he would burst. Never, in all his dreams, had he really thought he'd get to experience holding her like this. He never would have guessed how much better and more beautiful experiencing the real life Lorelai was than the dream.

After he completed the list of Lorelai's favorite music, they laid in a lazy silence. Luke was especially surprised by Lorelai's silence, realizing he had never heard her be quiet for so many minutes before. He smiled to himself. This was yet another part of Lorelai Gilmore that only he would have the joy of experiencing.

"You were quite cocky, you know," she said finally, finding his hand under the blankets and giving it a squeeze.

Luke turned on his side to face her. "And why is that?"

"I meant how sure you were that you were getting some," Lorelai said. "I mean, you must have known when you invited me up here for coffee after you made it downstairs that there's no way I could refuse. You're good at putting ones over the ladies, aren't you? You're a sly, sly man."

Luke rolled his eyes. "You know, did it ever occur to you that maybe I only just had coffee in mind? That it wasn't until you dared me to have a drink of coffee, and then you started looking at me with that wild, coffee crazed look and started kissing me, that we ended up in the position we are? Speaking of which, I can't help wondering. Was it just the coffee that turned you on or was it me?"

Lorelai gave a light shrug of her shoulders. "It was the coffee, but you still rank pretty high up there, my friend. After all, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have the coffee, and that would make me very sad."

"You just love driving me crazy, don't you," Luke said.

Without batting an eye, Lorelai said, "It's a gift.

"So I'm trying to come up with a good metaphor," Lorelai said, sitting up straighter. "If our first kiss was so good that if one of us were a frog, there would have been some serious consequences, then what do you think of this? Did having sex transform ourselves from lizards to people?"

"Lizards?" Luke said, staring at her in disbelief.

"I'm just trying to think of an animal that is like a frog, but bigger," Lorelai said. "Come on, Luke, roll with me here. Lizards, crocodiles, dinosaurs…what are the other options?"

"I don't think one of us being a dinosaur is a very romantic image," Luke said, wondering why he ever let himself get surprised by Lorelai anymore.

"Aw babe, you're not getting the whole romance of it down," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "Even if you were a dinosaur or a crocodile, you would still be my prince."

Luke felt a warm tingle running through him. While she had gone through several nicknames over the years, she had never called him such a loving pet name before. He doubted anything else would taste as sweet on his tongue as saying "Lorelai," but he could certainly get used to this.

"So, what you're saying is that if the act of a good kiss can turn a frog into human, then that since the act of lovemaking is so much greater than a kiss, then it has the power to turn an even bigger animal-like a crocodile or a dinosaur-into a human," Luke said, struggling to understand.

Lorelai beamed at him. "And how quickly you learn."

They kissed again, this time bumping noses as they broke away. "Hi," Lorelai said, giggling. God, he didn't ever think he'd get sick of hearing her laugh.

"Well," he said, bringing Lorelai back with him as he leaned against the pillows again, "it wasn't a bad first kiss."

Lorelai frowned. "Oh, I guess that wasn't our first kiss. Not in my world, at least."

"What do you mean?" Luke said, turning to her.

"Remember that dream I told you about, where you woke me up with forty alarm clocks, and we were married, and I was pregnant with twins?"

"Vaguely," Luke said, lying; he remembered nearly everything she told him, but he thought he'd already exposed his so-called pining enough for one day.

"Well, what I didn't tell you is that before you left me to go to work is that we kissed. Twice," she said thoughtfully.

Luke felt excitement erupting through him, as he realized for the first time that Lorelai had been waiting for this day too. "Then I guess it's time I told you about my first time we kissed, too," Luke said, not even caring how ridiculous their conversation was.

Lorelai squealed. "Is it dirty?" she said, clapping her hands.

"No," Luke admitted. "But there are plenty of other dirty versions I can tell you later."

"Luke Danes, storyteller," Lorelai said with wonder in her voice. "I can't believe I get to not only hear one Luke Danes story, but two. Go on, babe. When in our history was this one?"

Luke felt himself smiling. "Well, I think we dreamed it after about the second or third time you came in. In reality, you'd told me your name the second time we met, but for some reason, in my dream, you hadn't yet…"

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_The tall, curly haired brunette came in at the same time as she had the last two mornings; although this time she was not holding the hand of a child, she still came in with a bounce in her step._

"_Coffee!" she said, going over to the counter with the same greeting she had the last two times in a row. "Coffee, coffee, coffee, pronto!"_

"_You know, a 'please' might help," said Luke, rolling his eyes, but nonetheless, he obliged and filled a cup with coffee. She closed her eyes after her first sip and sighed, as though she was in pure heaven._

"_Angel," she said, her eyes still closed. "I swear, Duke, you have such talent, it's unreal. Someday, you're going to have to give me a ride on those wings."_

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"Dirty!" Lorelai said, clapping her hands. "Wow, that might have been the first time you heard me say that."

"I highly doubt it was the first time, considering you must have said it before, in order for it to appear in my dream," Luke said wryly.

"Oh, we're talking about your dream?" Lorelai said, feigning innocence. "It seemed so real!"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Anyway…"

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"_Yeah, yeah, yeah," Luke said. The diner was relatively full today, and he had enough to think about without adding the increased pressure of talking to this woman to the mix._

_It was only when Luke came back from serving some of the dishes to the table that the woman grabbed his arm. It was then that Luke found himself looking into her brilliant blue eyes, and a now familiar rush of butterflies overtook him. Luke tried to turn away, but the brilliance of her eyes stopped him. In that moment, nothing else about her mattered; not her annoying coffee addiction, not the way she rambled relentlessly, not the fact that dating her wouldn't work out considering Luke's lack of skills with kids-nothing. Instead all he saw were her beautiful blue eyes._

"_I've been thinking," said the woman, looking at Luke, oblivious to the thoughts going on in his head. "I've come in a few times, and as long as you don't suddenly start losing your touch on making coffee, it looks like I'm going to be a regular here. I think it's time for me to introduce myself. Just so you can some idea of what to call me, instead of 'that crazy woman who gave you a horoscope and didn't go away when she said she would'." At this, the woman gave him a saucy smile. _

"_I already know your name, Lorelai," said Luke without thinking. The woman frowned at him._

"_Huh?"_

"_I mean, I heard Miss Patty and Babette talking about it," Luke said, his cheeks flushing. He didn't want Lorelai to know how he had actually asked Miss Patty and Babette about Lorelai after the second time she came in, though the conscious Luke would reason that the reason he actually did know her name was because she had told it to him, outside of the dream. Still, if the conscious Luke was to be completely honest, he also had to admit that he really _had _asked Miss Patty and Babette about Lorelai, though he'd pretended to be surprised when she announced her name in real life. "They, uh, were talking about how Miss Patty used to give dance lessons to your daughter-Rory-and how you work for Mia at the Independence Inn. I just happened to hear, I guess."_

"_Well, I bet you don't know how Rory is just a nickname for Lorelai, and that I named her after myself," said the woman, clearly at a loss for what to say. Luke just looked at her. Sighing, Lorelai rested her arms on the table. "Oh, well, I guess I should have expected as much. Everyone knows everyone's business around here, so it's not such a surprise you heard about me before I had the chance to say anything." As though suddenly bit by a new vigor, she raised her head determinedly. "Anyway, you don't know everything about me, Duke. I must warn you that I'm a very mysterious person, and few people get to know the real me...Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, just in case you were wondering."_

_Luke bit back a laugh at this statement. As far as he knew, Lorelai seemed like the kind of person who expressed her feelings easily-a person so different from himself. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I didn't know your middle name until now," he said, summoning up an annoyed expression on his face. "Babette and Miss Patty didn't mention that." He lifted up her coffee cup from the counter so that he could refill it, then placed the pitcher back on the counter. "Now, are you gonna order anything that won't ruin your stomach lining or not?"_

_Lorelai opened her mouth to speak, but that was when their eyes met, yet again. This time, Luke found himself not only concentrating on her eyes, but her whole face, from her pink lips to the curve of her chin. Swallowing hard, Luke managed to look away, but it was in redirecting his focus that he found himself losing his grip on Lorelai's coffee cup, which he was still holding. Lorelai gasped as the coffee cup dropped to the ground with a crash. Although it did not break, the entire remains of coffee spilled onto the floor. Instantly, Lorelai was on the ground with a napkin in her hand. "Oh my God, let me help you! God, I'm so sorry, I must have startled you-I made such a mess!" _

"_No, it's okay; it was my fault," said Luke, his heart still ramming by the unexpected events that had transpired. He grabbed a few more napkins from the counter and joined Lorelai on the floor. The three napkins turned brown as they began to soak up the coffee there. Taking a deep breath, Luke forced himself to look at Lorelai. "Get up. You're not the one who spilled the coffee; I am. I'm the one who's running this business, not you. I'll make the coffee on the house or something-both coffees, cause you're gonna need another refill. I promise I won't lecture you about stomach linings this time."_

_Lorelai didn't say anything, however, and for the third time that morning, Luke found himself staring at her. This time, however, Lorelai's eyes were warm, and he got his first glimpse that perhaps she was surveying him as intently as he was surveying her. Before he could work out what to do with this new information, Lorelai leaned in. In a single instant, they found themselves moving closer until finally their lips met in a perfect kiss._

_Though upon post-dream inspection, Luke had to admit that the dream had probably accounted for the perfection of the kiss between them, Luke found himself being kissed like he never had before. Even the sweetness of Rachel's kisses had been nothing like this. With Rachel, Rachel's mind had always been focused on something sense, but he could tell that Lorelai was perfectly in the moment. Her lips were so soft, softer than he had thought possible. Although this was not the most intense kiss he had had by a long shot, it was also somehow the most passionate._

_As soon as the kiss ended, Lorelai stood up. Luke stared at her, dazed, as she grabbed her purse and began to button her coat. "Well, Duke, it seems that duty is calling," she said in the same tone she had when she had first come in-just as though the kiss had never happened. "I got my coffee fix, and now it looks like the Inn is waiting." She smiled. "Thanks for the free coffee, by the way. It won't go forgotten, I promise."_

_Luke frowned as she made her way to the diner's exit. "Lorelai, wait!"_

_Right before Lorelai opened the door to go outside, she looked back at him and winked. The completely oblivious diner, who had somehow not watched Luke and Lorelai's exchange, continued talking. Luke tried to calm down the racing of his heart as he stared after her in utter bewilderment. One thing became had become clear to him. Lorelai must not have been lying about her being mysterious, because Lorelai Gilmore was becoming more of an enigma by the minute. _

OoOoOoOo

The two lay peacefully after the story finished. Luke glanced at Lorelai, half expecting that she had fallen asleep, but instead her eyes were half closed and a small smile graced her face. "That's a nice story," she said, reaching underneath the covers for his hand.

"Only took eight years for it to become a reality," Luke said, lacing his fingers with hers and squeezing her hand back.

Lorelai's eyes opened all the way so that she could survey him. "You added a few details in, didn't you?" she said suspiciously. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a great story and all, but there's no way you could have known so much about me then."

"I might have added in a few details, like the 'dirty,' and it's true I had no idea that the kiss would really be as great as it was," Luke admitted grudgingly, "but I'd like to say that I was skilled in reading you, even then."

Lorelai smiled at him before closing her eyes again. She began to snuggle up against his shoulder. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm getting tired," she said. "Miss Aurora needs her beauty rest if I'm going to get through the day together."

"Yeah, go ahead," said Luke, not even pretending to get her reference. He placed his arm around her, and Lorelai settled into the crook of his neck.

She spoke one more thing before drifting off to sleep. "Oh, and Luke? Tonight really was the _perfect_ date."

Luke found a smile tugging at his face as he kissed her on the head goodnight. Unlike in his dream, he did not even try to force the smile away. He, Luke Danes, was happy, and by God, he was going to show it, no matter how was out-of-character it seemed.

Although he closed his eyes, it took Luke a few more minutes before he joined Lorelai in sleep. The joy of having a naked Lorelai Gilmore asleep beside him was enough to send his heart racing all over again. Yet as excited as he was by this, he also found himself filled with contentment. Sleeping with Lorelai Gilmore felt so right and comfortable that he could have been doing it all his life.

Sighing, he hugged Lorelai to him and concentrated on taking deep breaths. He was normally embarrassed to admit such a thing, but right then Luke had to admit how happy he was. Though sweet dreams would be welcomed, he knew he would never dream anything sweeter than Lorelai Gilmore lying beside him.


End file.
